The importance of essential oils in the green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles

Abstract

The antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles has been explored over time in different chemical formula-tions for antibiotic-free agents. The production of these particles by environmentally friendly routes repre-sents an extremely relevant strategy for presenting low cost, favoring scalability and having minimal envi-ronmental impacts. The use of essential oils as reducing agents in green synthesis of silver nanoparticles in-troduces the synergy of an intrinsically antibacterial agent that favors the nucleation / growth of the nanopar-ticles. This review presents the state-of-the-art of green synthesis of silver nanoparticles by essential oils as well as discusses the most relevant mechanisms of formation process and antibacterial action.